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A distressing video has emerged of a shark swimming with a plastic ring stuck around its body, cutting into its skin.
The juvenile female gray nurse shark was seen swimming in the waters of Seal Rocks, on the mid north coast of New South Wales, on March 24 by Forster Dive Centre.
A large piece of the shark’s skin had been cut away by the plastic ring, which is seen wedged around the upper part of its body near its head.
The dive center shared the harrowing images as a reminder of the impacts improper trash disposal can have on marine life.
The juvenile female gray nurse shark was seen swimming in the waters of Seal Rocks, on the mid north coast of New South Wales, on March 24 by the Forster Dive Centre.
“He has been living with what appears to be a round plastic ring similar to a Frisbee and it is severely cutting into his body,” they said.
“It’s about 1.6 meters long and probably won’t survive long like this.”
Amelie Chipeaux, the center’s head diving instructor, said it was devastating to see the shark so helpless.
“I was lucky enough to get a close look at her and it looks like the ring around her body was very thick and I couldn’t help her,” he told WhatsNew2Day Australia.
The shark was seen swimming with a large plastic ring taped around its head.
The plastic ring cut a large piece of skin from the 1.6 meter shark.
‘Shock and crying into my diving mask, I couldn’t do anything but watch her swim away as best I could.
“We saw her twice during this dive, but she was too scared to let us get close enough to do anything to help.”
Chipeaux said the team has contacted the NSW Department of Primary Industries and is awaiting a response.
NSW DPI has been contacted.
“In the meantime, we decided to share the heartbreaking video to raise awareness about the impacts litter can have on our beautiful marine life,” Ms Chipeaux said.
One of the shark’s fins also got caught in the ring and was seen sticking out in an awkward position as it tried its best to swim.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, up to 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year.
Forster Dive Center urged people to take part in ‘take 3 for the sea’, which encourages people to pick up three pieces of litter from the beach before setting off.
Experts say Lauren O’Neill (pictured) is lucky to be alive after being bitten by a shark in January while swimming in Sydney Harbour.
Meanwhile, the debate surrounding the use of shark nets has recently been renewed.
Australia has been rocked by a series of shark attacks in recent months, drawing attention to the effectiveness of the nets.
Dr Chris Pepin-Neff, a shark management expert at the University of Sydney, has researched the use of lethal shark control measures such as nets in New South Wales and drum lines in Queensland, which he described as nothing more than political opportunism.
“Shark nets are a way of politically defrauding the public,” he previously told WhatsNew2Day Australia.
“There is little evidence to suggest that the nets work and protect bathers.
“But you can have environmentally sustainable precincts that help people enjoy the port safely.”
His comments came after the non-fatal shark attack on Lauren O’Neill, 29, who had been swimming in Sydney Harbor near a private jetty in Elizabeth Bay in January.
Experts believe Ms O’Neill was bitten by a bull shark after examining photos of the bite as harrowing details emerged from eyewitnesses, including that her leg “dragged behind her” in the blood-stained water.